Method and apparatus for removing impurities released from staple fibers

ABSTRACT

Method of and apparatus for removing impurities released from staple fibers on a separating device preceding an underpressure spinning chamber and delivering them into a collecting area. The impurities are sucked away from the collecting area by underpressure produced by the pressure of air drawn off from the spinning chamber, a part of the air that is being drawn off from the spinning chamber being fed to the collecting area and dragging the impurities into an underpressure outlet tube.

United States Patent 1 Doudlebsky et al.

[ METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVING IMPURITIES RELEASED FROM STAPLE FIBERS [75 Inventors: Ctibor Doudlebsky; Frantisek Jaros;

Frantisek Ferkl, all of Usti nad Orlici; Milan Chrtek, Ceska Trebova; Antonin Cap, Usti nad W,grlis efisfg sh ekie [73] Assignee: Vyzkumny Ustav Bavlnarsky,

Prague, Czechoslovakia 22 Filed: Mar. 21, 1972 [21] Appl. No.2 236,758

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 24, 1971 Czechoslovakia 2137/71 [52] U.S. Cl 57/56, 57/58.95, 57/156 [51] Int. Cl. D01h 11/00, DOlh H12 [58] Field of Search... 57/1, 34 R, 56, 58.89-58.95, 57/156 [4 Oct.9,1973

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,698,175 10/1972 Dykast 57/56 X 3,626,681 12/1971 Naruse 57/56 X 3,360,917 l/1968 Kubovy et al.... 57/56 X 3,627,584 12/1971 Stewart 57/58.95 X

Primary Examiner-Donald E. Watkins AttorneyArthur O. Klein [5 7] ABSTRACT Method of and apparatus for removing impurities released from staple fibers on a separating device preceding an underpressure spinning chamber and delivering them into a collecting area. The impurities are sucked away from the collecting area by underpressure produced by the pressure of air drawn off from the spinning chamber, a part of the air that is being drawn off from the spinning chamber being fed to the collecting area and dragging the impurities into an underpressure outlet tube 13 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PAIENIEDBET 91m 3.163.641

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METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVING IMPURITIES RELEASED FROM STAPLE FIBERS This application is related to the following applications filed the same day and assigned to the same assignee:

Application Ser. No. 237,003, filed Mar. 22, 1972 and titled a. METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SEPA- RATING IMPURITIES FROM FIBERS DURING CLEANING OR THE FIBERS;

Application Ser. No. 236,581, filed Mar. 21, 1972 and titled b. RINGLESS SPINNING MACHINE.

The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for removing impurities released from staple fibers on a separating device preceding an underpressure spinning chamber and delivering them into a collecting area; the apparatus for performing said method is provided with an area for collecting the impurities to which there open one or more cleaning slots or channels, said slots or channels being connected to the area in which the combing out roller of the separating device rotates.

Different methods of removing impurities from the infed staple fibers within the zone of the separating device have been suggested. They include the suggestion that dirt be removed from the staple fibers in the area of the separating device, in a cleaning zone, into a suitable collecting area without, however, going into any detail concerning the removal of released dirt and without using an external underpressure exhausting source. In these solutions the impurities are thrown by the energy imparted by the combing-out roller through the so-called cleaning slot into the said collecting area.

It is an object of the present invention, which is related to ringless spinning, to remove the impurities from the staple fiber that have been already released in the zone of the separating device of the spinning unit so that they may not accumulate and impair the further cleaning process, i.e. the process of removing the impurities in such a way that they may be delivered into areas through which'they can leave the spinning unit together with other dirt and fly fibers.

It is a feature of the present invention that only such sources of pneumatic energy need to be or should be applied for removing the released impurities as are available and are necessary for the spinning process.

It :is an object of the method according to the present invention that the impurities are sucked away from the collecting area by underpressure produced by the pressure of air drawn off from the spinning chamber.

Another feature is that a part of air that is being drawn off from the spinning chamber is fed to the collecting area and drags the impurities into an underpressure outlet. The sucking may be intermittent, if desired.

In the apparatus for performing the method according to the invention the collecting area is connected with the underpressure exhaust tube leading to the injector, the working medium of which is air that is exhausted from the space around the spinning chamber through the exhaust channel.

Another preferable embodiment has the collecting space formed by a cylindrical body with a longitudinal hole for the inlet of impurities, while one front face of the cylindrical body is covered and the other, i.e. the

outlet of the collecting area, is connected to the underpressure exhaust tube.

Another feature consists in that a part of the cylindrical body accommodated in the case is provided with blowing channels connecting the collecting area with the area of the case which is connected with the exhaust channel by means of the pressure channel; the blowing channels may be arranged tangentially in the cylindrical body, or they may be oriented towards the outlets of the collecting area.

The removal of impurities is made easier by the fact that the underpressure exhaust tube is provided with a funnel in the place where it joins the collecting area; an interrupter may be inserted into the pressure exhaust tube.

A further feature consists in that the inlet of the pressure channel is arranged in the exhaust channel and widens in the direction opposite the air stream drawn away through the exhaust channel.

The above and other features of the method and apparatus according to the invention will be more fully explained in the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows the spinning unit in axial section through the spinning chamber in a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the combing-out roller;

FIG. 2 shows the spinning unit in a plane perpendicular to the section plane according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detail of a section of the collecting area, the cleaning slots and a part of the combing-out roller; and

FIG. 4 depicts a detail of the injector in sectional view.

In the body 1 of the separating device there is rotatably mounted a combing-out roller 11 with tips 111 adjacent to the combing-out roller 11 there is a feeding roller 12 for feeding the sliver 2 of staple fibers 21 (FIG. 3) to the combing-out roller 11. The sliver 2 enters the separating device through the condensing fun nel l3, and a pressure platen 14 serves to press it resiliently against the feeding roller 12. The combing-out roller 11 as well as the feeding roller are driven by known, and, consequently, not illustrated drive means.

The combing-out roller 11 projects into the outlet channel 15 the inlet of which is connected with the surrounding atmosphere, while the outlet leads through the cylindrical side wall of the projection 16 projecting into the known spinning chamber 3 and creating together with the adjacent part of the body 1 of the separating device an immovable cover of the spinning chamber 3. The exhaust hole 161 for exhausting the spunyarn 20 is arranged in the axis of the projection 16.

The spinning chamber 3 is provided with a frustoconical slip wall 31, widening to form a so-called collecting surface 32; wall 31 can be further provided with ventilating holes 33 for creating the necessary underpressure within the area of the chamber. The spinning chamber 3 is fixed to the shaft 34 that is supported by bearings 35, 36. The shaft 34 is terminated by a pulley 37 engaging, under working conditions, with the belt 38 driven by means (not shown). The yarn 20 is exhausted through the exhaust opening 161 by means of driven delivery rollers 51, 52 and is wound on a bobbin 5 (FIG. 1). The area around the spinning chamber 3 is limited by the housing 4 out of which the exhaust channel 41 leads.

Between the combing-out zone, i.e. the area where the tips 111 of the combing-out roller 11 comb out the sliver 2, and the zone of doffing, i.e. the zone wherein the combing-out roller 11 projects into the outlet channel where the fibers 21 are doffed and dragged by the air stream into the said outlet channel 15, one or more cleaning slots 61 are arranged in the wall of the body 1 of the separating device, said slots 61 connecting the area in which the combing-out roller 11 rotates with the collecting area 6 formed by a cylindrical body 60 provided with a longitudinal hole oriented with respect to the body 1 in such a way that the cleaning slots 61 open into the said cylindrical body 60.

The thus-created collecting area 6 is connected with the underpressure exhaust tube 62 leading to the outlet channel 41 so as to form with it the injector 63 (FlGS.2 and 4), the working medium of which is the air bleeding through the outlet channel 41 out of the area created by the housing 4. A preferred embodiment of the outlet of underpressure exhaust tube 62 from the collecting area 6 has the form of a funnel in one front face of the cylindrical body 60, the other front face being closed.

Another advantage of the apparatus is that a part of the cylindrical body 60 is placed in the housing 64 and provided with blowing channels 601 connecting the collecting area 6 with the area of the housing 64; the area of the housing 64 is connected with the outlet channel 41 by the pressure channel 65. The inlet of the pressure channel 65 is arranged in the outlet channel 41 and widens in a direction opposite the direction of the air streaming through the outlet channel 41. An advantageous arrangement of the blowing channels 601 in the cylindrical body 60 is a tangential one, as shown in FlG.3. The channels may also be directed to the outlet of the collecting area 6.

In order to obtain intermittent sucking of impurities, it is advisable to include an intermittently operated valve or interrupter 65 (H62) in the underpressure exhaust tube 62.

The described method of removing impurities and the operation of the described apparatus are as follows:

The sliver 2 is fed by the feeding roller 12 to the rotating combing-out roller 11 combing and separating the staple fibers 21 from the sliver. Under the effect of the rotation of the combing-out roller 11 and the underpressure induced by the rotating spinning chamber 3, these fibers 21 reach the slip wall 31 of said spinning chamber 3 and its collecting surface 32 where they are deposited as a ribbon-shaped configuration that is twisted into yarn delivered through the exhaust hole 161 out side the spinning chamber 3. The drawing-off of yarn 20 is performed by means of delivery rollers 51, 52; the bobbin 5 serves to take up yarn 20. Thusfar the method and apparatus are known.

The impurities 22 contained in sliver 2 are shot up, by kinetic energy imparted by the combing-out roller 11, through the cleaning slot 61 into the collecting area 6. From area 6 they are sucked away through the underpressure exhaust tube 62, under the effect of the injector 63, into the outlet channel 41 and via this outlet channel outside the machine, e.g. into a suitable waste box.

The interrupter 66, which is not an indispensable part of the apparatus, helps the impurities 22 to be dragged along into the outlet channel 41. The pressure air fed through the pressure channel 65 and through blowing channels 601 oriented in a suitable way with respect to the collecting area 6, as has already been explained, also aids the dragging along of impurities into the underpressure exhaust tube 62 and to the outlet channel 41.

Although the invention is illustrated and described with reference to a plurality of preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be expressly understood that it is in no way limited to the disclosure of such a plurality of embodiments, but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a method of removing impurities released from staple fibers on a separating device preceding an underpressure spinning chamber and delivering them into a collecting area, the improvement which comprises sucking the impurities away from the collecting area by underpressure produced by the pressure of air drawn off from the spinning chamber.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein a part of the air that is being drawn off from the spinning chamber is fed to the collecting area so as to drag the impurities into an underpressure outlet tube.

3. A method according to claim 1, comprising intermittently interrupting the sucking.

4. In an apparatus for removing impurities from staple fibers on a separating device preceding an underpressure spinning chamber and delivering them into a collecting area, the improvement which comprises means for sucking the impurities away from the collecting area by underpressure produced by the pressure of air drawn off from the spinning chamber, said lastnamed means comprising a combing out roller in the separating device, and a cleaning slot open to the collecting area, said slot being connected to the area in which the combing-out roller of the separating device rotates.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, comprising means connecting the collecting area to an underpressure exhaust tube leading to a source of underpressure, the working medium of which is air that is exhausted from the space around the spinning chamber through an exhaust channel.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the source of underpressure is an injector.

7. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the collecting area is formed by a cylindrical body within a casing, the body being provided with a longitudinal hole for the inlet of impurities, one front face of the cylindrical body being covered and the other, the outlet of the collecting area, being connected to the underpressure exhaust tube.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a part of the cylindrical body accommodated in the casing is provided with blowing channels connecting the collecting area with the area of the case which is connected with the exahust channel by means of the pressure channel.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the blowing channels are arranged tangentially in the cylindrical body.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the blowing channels are oriented towards the outlet of the collecting area.

11. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the underpressure exhaust tube is provided with a funnel in the place where it joins the collecting area.

6 12. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the inlet channel. of the pressure channel is arranged in the exhaust chan- 13. Apparatus according to claim 4, comprising an nel and widens in a direction opposite the direction of interrupter interposed in the pressure exhaust tube. flow of the air stream drawn away through the exhaust 

1. In a method of removing impurities released from staple fibers on a separating device preceding an underpressure spinning chamber and deliVering them into a collecting area, the improvement which comprises sucking the impurities away from the collecting area by underpressure produced by the pressure of air drawn off from the spinning chamber.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein a part of the air that is being drawn off from the spinning chamber is fed to the collecting area so as to drag the impurities into an underpressure outlet tube.
 3. A method according to claim 1, comprising intermittently interrupting the sucking.
 4. In an apparatus for removing impurities from staple fibers on a separating device preceding an underpressure spinning chamber and delivering them into a collecting area, the improvement which comprises means for sucking the impurities away from the collecting area by underpressure produced by the pressure of air drawn off from the spinning chamber, said last-named means comprising a combing out roller in the separating device, and a cleaning slot open to the collecting area, said slot being connected to the area in which the combing-out roller of the separating device rotates.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 4, comprising means connecting the collecting area to an underpressure exhaust tube leading to a source of underpressure, the working medium of which is air that is exhausted from the space around the spinning chamber through an exhaust channel.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the source of underpressure is an injector.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the collecting area is formed by a cylindrical body within a casing, the body being provided with a longitudinal hole for the inlet of impurities, one front face of the cylindrical body being covered and the other, the outlet of the collecting area, being connected to the underpressure exhaust tube.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a part of the cylindrical body accommodated in the casing is provided with blowing channels connecting the collecting area with the area of the case which is connected with the exhaust channel by means of the pressure channel.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the blowing channels are arranged tangentially in the cylindrical body.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the blowing channels are oriented towards the outlet of the collecting area.
 11. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the underpressure exhaust tube is provided with a funnel in the place where it joins the collecting area.
 12. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the inlet of the pressure channel is arranged in the exhaust channel and widens in a direction opposite the direction of flow of the air stream drawn away through the exhaust channel.
 13. Apparatus according to claim 4, comprising an interrupter interposed in the pressure exhaust tube. 